Apparatus for feeding clay to molds



' April'24, 1945- v w. J. MILLER 2,374,554

7 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CLAY TO MOLDS Original Filed Dec. 2. 1941 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Ha. l2 He. /4-

IN V EN-TOR.

- W/LL/AM'JTMIL M BY April 24, 1945. w. J. MILLER APPARATUS FOR iEEDINGCLAY TO MOLDS Original Filed Dec. 2, 1941 April 24; 1945. w. J; MILLER 72,374,554.

'APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CLAY TO MOLDS Original Filed Dec. 2, 1941 sSheets-Sheet 2 Will/III 1 25 I Patented Apr. 24,1945 1 UNITED s'rArssPATENT OFFICE- 2,374,554 APPARATUS FOIQ FEED ING .CLAY T MOLDS WilliamJ. .Miller, S wissvale, Pa.,assignor to' 1 Miller Pottery EngineeringCompany, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania applicationHeretofore, plastic jiggering. clay has been mechanically fed to moldsby apparatusoperative Original application December 2, 1941, Serial No.421,299. Divided and this application April 20,

1943, Serial No. 483,721 1 26 Claims. (cl. 25-1) This invention relatesto apparatus for the manufacture of potteryware. It has to doparticularly with feeding charges of plastic ceramic production ofiiggered material to molds in the Ware. i

This application is a division of my co-pending Serial No. 421,299.filed; December 2,

to homogenize filter-pressed clay and deliver it to a manifold havingoutlets through which the clay is forced into delivery chambers. Fromthese chambers, the clay is ejected, for instance,

by a plunger, into or onto the molds." To homoenize and deliver the clayto' the manifold, it is customary to use a conventional pug mill, but ithas been found that the force delivered by the .mittently as it thesystems of the prior art. as

a result of this, the clay in the manifold will not only be maintainedunder pressure at all times, but the time usually lost in stopping andstarting a the pugmillas heretofore required, is saved. Be-

sides this, by holding pressure on the clay, there is not time norenergy lost periodically building up a pressure head with which to startthe clay flowing into the outlets.

The present clay feeding system is substantial! ly closed to atmosphereand .the clay is protected from air borne contamination and loss ofmoisture until it issues from the system in the form of a charge.Instead of the outlets of the delivery chamber being open at all times,as herepug, mill auger is variable and of insuiiicient value to quicklyflow the clay into and completely fill the delivery and measuringchambers, particularly those. mostremote from the auger tip.

Furthermore, the internal shape and design of the manifold has not beenas highly efficient as it might be in promoting a flow of, clay suchthat the delivery outlets would-be quickly and com-'- pletely filled.Owing to these factors, the rate of production and delivery of chargesis not as great as it might be and one object of this invention is toincrease the output of properly measured and proportioned charges withina given interval to thereby proportionately increase ware pr duction.Another object is to afiix the charge to'the molding surface by pressingit thereagainst incident to deposit thereon,.thus preventingdislodge'ment or displac According to my invention, I pugthe clay in aconventional pug mill and deliver it to a manifold of Fig. 1. I

by means of the customary unreliable auger, how- Fig; 6 is a horizontalsection taken on line 6'B ever. I provide auxiliary positive andreliable im- \of Fig. 1. l V peler means for cooperating therewithperiodi- Fi 7 i a bottom'plan view of the feeder of cally in ap lyingcontrolled pressure to the clay. Fig. 1 v r in. the manifold to causethe clay to reliably move. Fig, 8 is a perspective view of the e r rwith greater, rapidity than heretofore, into and completely fill themeasuring chambers. The auxiliary force is applied only for suchshortest practical interva s as isjnecessa ry to insure proper andcomplete filling of all measuring delivery chambers associated with themanifold.

25 from .the pug mill.

80 clay. s j

35 ement due to movement of the mold between stations,

charge. forming chamber.

'J g- 11 is an enlarged detail vertical section The manifold representsan improvement in that it. is designed to effect a more reliable anduniform flow and distribution of clay to the various outlets. Theconstruction is such that during each feeding cycle of the apparatus,the capacity of the manifold is rapidly decreased-toexpedite the flow ofclay through the outlets and then gradually or otherwise, increased byforce of clayinfiow from the pug mill whereby the pug auger may rotatecontinuously instead of intertofore,-in the present system, they areclosed during at least the interval while the chambers and manifold arebeing 'filled. As a result, the

clay is packed solidly into the delivery chamber '20- to thereby insurethe full bulk of clay in the charge. Furthermore, in that acertainamount of back pressure. is applied to the clay in the manifold at alltimes, undue expansion of the clay isprevented as it moves intothe-manifold This greatly eliminates the possibility of molecularseparations in the clay which might promote the development of flaws andlaps in the, clay imparted thereto by the D of vacuumized mill auger,particularly in the case n section, of

aken on line 55 Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional elevationthrough the charge forming chamber showing the plunger and the closurefor the chamber.

Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view looking into the showing how the feeder isplying chamber.

Fig. 12 illustrates the op attached to a clay sup charge of clay to amold.

Fig. 13 is a piping diagram of a pneumatic system for operating thefeeder plungers.

' head.

eration of applying a 14 shows a modified form of feeder plunger dayengaging surface of the form of permeable end part of the plunger shownin Fig. 16.

Fig. 16 is a section taken on line |6|6 of Fig. 15.

Figure 17 is a vertical section through one of the control valvesassociated with the fluid pressure system for operating the plungers.

Generally, each mold feeder includes a replaceable upright measuring andcharging cylinder 26 (Fig. 9) from which a measured charge of the clayis forcefully deposited on to the center of the molding surfaces of themolds when same are raised by mold chucks. To this end, as seen in Figs.1, 2 and 3, the charging cylinder 26 of each 28c passing throughoversize bolt holes 29d inbosses 29c of the frame, and the manifold issecured on the machine frame by bolts 29 which pass through oversizeholes in the base portion 299 of the manifold. Operating within thecharging cylinder 26 is a hollow charge-ejecting plunger 30 secured tothe bottom end of a plunger rod 3| slidably supported in a bearing 33 ofthe charger frame 28. For providing a seal between .the cylinder andplunger, the plunger operates within a pair of opposed flanged packingrings 33a held within an annular recess 33b in the-top of the cylindenbya ring nut 33c threaded in the recess.

The plunger is reciprocated by a fluid-pressure operated motor 34mounted on the top of the feeder frame and within which operates apiston 35 on a piston rod 36 which operates the plunger through alost-motion connection 31 connecting same with the plunger rod 3| of theplunger.

At the bottom end of the charging cylinder 26 is detachably secured anozzle 38 forming the charging outlet which is normally sealed by amovable closure orgate 39. The nozzle is detachably held within anannular recess 39a in the bottom end of the cylinder by a split ring 3%received within an annular groove 390 in the wall of the recess andengaging a flange 39d of the nozzle. The nozzle is held in properposition/anin its side wall through which the clay is fed under pressureinto the chamber from a manifold inner lining of an abrasive resistantmaterial,

48 with a very slight clearance therebetween for venting the chamber asit is being filled with clay gate, or the facing may be cemented on thegate if. desired. y

The outlet nozzle 38 is slightly smaller in diameter than the measuringchamber 4| and has an such as an alloy of cobalt and chromium or nickeltoeinsure a close fit with the feeder plunger to prevent a film of clayfrom forming on the side as rubber, for yieldably wiping the walls ofthe chamber and nozzle, as seen in Fig. 14.

The gate 38 is also operated by the fluid-pressure motor 34, which,through the lost-motion 29, Fig 11, which has means therein to cause theI clay to gush or surge forward expeditiously and connection 31 and cammeans, opens the gate before the feeder plunger is lowered thereby toexpel a charge of clay, and whereby the gate will be closed as theplunger is finally raised. For this purpose, on the piston rod 36 of thefluid motor is secured a cross-piece 52 from whose ends depend,respectively, elongated cam members 53 guided for verticalreciprocation, with said rod, between rollers 54 pivoted on the feederframe 28; In the cam members 53 are cam slots 56 within which operaterollers 51 pivoted on upward extensions 58 of the gate levers 45. Thecam slots have an upper cam-dwell portion 58 terminating in a lowerangular portion 68 arranged to swing the gate to open positionimmediately prior to the charging stroke of the feeder plunger, and toswing the gate to closed position immediately following the returnstroke of the plunger, the lost motion connection 31 making possible thenecessary plunger dwell periods between movements of the gate.

Thelost-motion connection 31 (see Fig. 1), includes an exteriorlythreaded .head 6| on the top end of the plunger rod 3|, threaded intothe lower end of an internally threaded connector sleeve 62 whichhas acentrallyapertured top-end wall 65 through which the piston rod 35 ofthe fluid motor freely extends with an enlarged disc-like head 66thereon confined for limited reciprocable movement between bumpers 61and 68arranged, respectively, under the top of the sleeve and upon thesaid head.

The lowermost position of the feeder plunger is determined by an,adjustable stop nut 69 threaded on athreaded stem portion 18 of theenlarged head .8 I, and which limits the downward movement ofthe plungerbyengaging a resilient of a pair of levers 45 fulcrumed, as at 46, onthe I reduced ends of'a cross-pin 48 supported in bear; ings "of thecharger frame 28, the pin; having a central enlarged opening 58 throughwh ich the piston rod 3| freely extends, as seen in-Figs. 2 and 5. Thereplaceable facing. of the gate and the outlet end ofthe nozzle 38 withwhich it 00- operates to' seal the measuring chamber are' formedarcuately about the axis of the cross-pin frame 28.

bumper ring 12 on the bearing 33 of the feeder The stop nut is held inadjusted position by having' a series of vertical indexing grooves 13about its periphery within one of which may be engaged the free end ofaresilient finger or'spring l4 anchored to the stem portion 18.

' Generally, the upward movement of the plunger islimited'by theconnector sleeve 62 eng ging a resilient bumper Ha on the feeder frame28.

*calclay charge, the stem 10 of the enlarged air-pressure chamber 82 inthe plunger.

Also, ,theupper limit of movement of the plunger may be varied byrotating the connector sleeve 62 to raise or lower the head GI andthereby regulate the capacity of the measuring chamber of the chargingcylinder 26. For holding the con nector sleeve 62 in adjusted position,one end of a resilient indexing finger 15 or spring, is an-.

chored to the stem 10, the'free end thereof being controlling theadmittance of air pressure through the charger plungers. this may-beaccomplished by interposing a slide type shut-off valve in theair-pressure line 89 and operated by 5 a cam 98 on the cross-shaft I8,as seen in Fig.

engageable within one of a series of vertical indexing grooves I8 formedabout the periphery of the connector. Thus the uppermost limit ofmovement of the plunger may be determined in-. dependently of itslowermost limit whichdetermines its approach to the molding surface of aa mold to thereby definethe thickness of the clay charge therebetween.

To visibly indicate the lengthof the cylindri ead 6| of theplunger rodhas an indicator I8 arranged in indicating relation to a vertical scaleI9 arranged on the frame .28. To more accurately determine the length ofthe charges beyond that made possible by the scale, the adjustable stopnut 89 for each plunger serves as a Vernier adjustment, as the indexinggrooves therein are arranged thereabout and indicated therefrom after ithas been forced thereby onto a mold. To this end, the permeable end 80of each plunger is in the form of a permeable disc which may beconstructed-of concrete, bronze or carborundum, and secured within acavity 8| in the bottom of the plunger to form thereabove an The disc issecured in the cavity. by having an annular groove 82a registering withan annular grooye 82b in "the wall of the cavity to form an annularchamber within which is molded a locking ring 82c,of cement or solder,by way of a sprue 82d inthe wall of the cavity. As seen in Figs. 1, 2

13. In this case, the air pressure line would have flexible branchesconnecting with the pipes 88 leading from the plunger rods, with athrottle valve I09 interposed in eachpipe to regulate the 10 How of airthrough the plungers individually.-

Confined in the air-pressure chamber 82 of each plunger (see Fig. 9) isa filter-pad 81 to prevent dirt or other foreign matter, that may comethrough from the main air-pressure line,

from clogging the veryminute openings in the permeable disc 80 of theplunger of contaminating any clay. that may be adjacent thereto.

To determine the contour of the upper surface of a clay charge'after ithas been pressed by a plunger onto a mold, the charge-engaging surfaceof the permeable disc 80 of the plungers may be contoured accordingly,wherein it may be fiat, as shown in Fig. 9L, to accommodate a flat. waremold, or rounded, as seen in Fig. 14, to ac.-

commodate a hollow ware mold.

thereon in sub-divisions of the smallest fractions The fluid-pressuremotors 34 are caused to actuate the charger plungers when the molds .areraised by the chucks II, to effect the charging operations, by theopposite ends of the cyl- 30 inder 99 of each motor being alternatelyconnected with a main fluid pressure line I00 (see Fig. 13) by way of anordinary continuously actuating four-way valve IOI-from whose twoopposite' service ports continue conduits I02 and 35' I 03 connectingwith the ends of ,the cylinders,

respectively, through branch conduits I04 and I05. In each of thesebranch conduits maybe a throttling valve I01 for controlling the flow ofair into the motor cylinders in regulating the rate 4001' reciprocationof the. charger plungers. The

valve IN. is of the ordinary rotary type whose rotor may be mounted onone, end of the crossshaft I8 to be constantly rotated thereby, the

valve also having a vent port I08 to 'vent'one end of the fluid motorcylinders when the fluid and 9. during the final downward movement "of,the plungers the pressure chambers 82 thereof are connected with acommonsource of air under pressure by'way of a central passage 83 in eachplunger rod, a passage 84 in the stem part I0 thereof, and a horizontalpipe section 86 extending therefrom with a depending inlet 81 underpressure is admitted into the other .end thereof.

, The manifold 29 supplies clay to the measuring chambers of the variousfeeders through its several outlets and is designed to distribute thewhich connects with a branch 88 (see Fig. 13)

' of a main air-pressure line 89 through a valve 90 which is arranged tobe opened by the inlet during final downward movement of the plungers:The valves '80 each include a valve casing 9| connected at its bottomend with its respective" branch 88' of the air pressure line, and inwhose top end is a central outlet port SIS-normally closed by aspring-pressed valve member 94 slidable in lets I I2 connecting with theinlets 42 of the clayfrom a pug mill into the measuring chambers of thefeeders.

Extending across the bottom portion of the front wall II I of themanifold is a series of out- I'neasuring chambers of the feeders. V.

In that the cla bulk demand of the feeders .'-may differ considerably inaccordance with the type of ware for which the charges are intended,

0 valve means is provided .for regulating the flow the. housing. Thevalve is arranged so that as the inlet 81 of the pipe 86 is lowered, itenters the outlet port and opens same to establish 'connection therewithby depressing the valve member 94. A sealing ring 85 may be arranged inthe outlet port 93 to provide a sealed connection between same and'theinlet 81. To control the pressure of the air to be "admitted through thevalves 90into the air-pressure chambers of the and thereby increasingmanifold filling time to of clay into the chambers thereof to insurethatthe filling of all of them will initrhte d simlll taneously andconcluded simultaneously to re duce chamber filling time to a minimumextent a maximum extent for each cycleof operation ofthdll'lfi/Jllillfi: 'As seen in Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7,-

said valves means comprises upper and lower slide valve members Ill and.8m the form of vertical plates arranged for vertical adjustmentplungers, in each branch 88 of the main air-pres- I sure line may beinterposed a throttling valve 98 (seeFig.,l3). J

Instead "of employing individual valves for with respect to each other,in between the inlet 42 of each measuring chamber and its adjacentoutlet I I2 of the manifold to provide a portor' passage II8athereb'etweenwhich may be varied '75 in areain accordance with thedemand of the measuring chamber. The valve plates are mounted foradjustment between guide portions 8b of the feeder frame 28 and thefront wall of the manifold. Each valve plate is adjusted by an adjustingscrew 80 threaded into a wall portion of the manifold and having areduced neck portion I hid received in a slot 8c in an angular endportion H8! of each plate. These valve members H1 and H8 may be employedsupplementary to the varying throats H5, or they may be substituted forthe throats, if desired, and under certain conditions, only one of themembers may be required to effect the proper result. I

Clay progressing pressure will cease and movement of the clay throughmanifold outlets will be halted prior to and during the opening of thegates, the ejection of the charges, and closing of the gates. Thisprevents the clay from gushing through the outlets and nozzles of themeasuring chamfbers between the time the gates are opened and theplungers descend sufficiently to 'as is confined in the "chambers willbe ejected therefrom.

Immediately after the clay is packed solidly in the measuring chambers,the pulsators H9 which force clay into the measuring chambers, aredeflated, and immediately thereafter the gates are opened. the plungers'lowered and'raised and the gates closed, preferably all in very rapidsuccession, whereby the charge of clay will be quickly deposited ontothe ware forming surface of the molds therebelow. It is preferred tolower the pllungers after the supplemental pressure delivered by thep'ulsators has been relaxed so as to remove side thrust of the plungerand prevent wear. 1

As seen in Fig. 12, when the mold is raised by the chuck II, it is heldin predetermined elevated position in co-axial alignment with the outletnozzles of the measuring chambers, whereby as the feeder plunger islowered, the rounded clay charge is ejected thereby from the chamber'and compressed onto the molding surfaces 200 of the mold in exactco-axial alignment therewith and assume a doughnut-like shape presentingalrounded ring-like peripheral portion connected by a thin depressedcentral fiat portion.

By so definitely shaping and measuring the charge bulk before it isexposed to atmosphere, then gripping it incident to its being depositedonto a molding surface, then spreading and re-' forming thereon to apredetermined shape optimum tofinal-definite marginal spreading, andincident thereto pressing thecharge into adhering connection with themold to prevent its displacement thereon while being rapidly transportedto and operated upon by a final sprea'ding definitelycontoured die,insures spreading the charge, radially to a uniform and optimumextentand thickness for jiggering without providing the conventional 35per cent excess clay bulk in each charge to insure full mold coverageand adequate blank thickness capable of resulting in a perfect articleafter jiggering. Thus, the apparatus may meet the requirements ofmaximum mass production with a minimum amount of clay supply due to themanner in i which the clay supply is conserved.

The invention contemplates a form of construction for the permeable endparts of the, charger plungers wherein the minute pores in the clayengaging surface thereof will not tend to'become clogged with very smallparticles of clay and reduce the permeability of the parts. This formof. construction is shown in Figs. v16, 14 and 15, and comprises aninterior body portion 204 made up ofa course grained material,

such as, .030" round sand particles, over which is provided a thinexterior layer 205 of very fine grained material, such as .002" roundsand particles, which latter and former sand particles are held togetherby a minimum amount of binder to' increase the permeability of the part.To further insure against cloggage of the very small pores of theexterior layer by particles of clay, this layer may be .provided withavery thin and finely reticulated gfa'cing 206 of resilient materialcapable of checking the intrusion of veiy small clay particlestherethrough. This facing may be in the form of a thin adhesivecoatingof rubber elastic paint, or the like, which, incident to drying, issubjected to air, under pressure, passedthrough the end part from theback thereof to cause those portions of the'layer between the finesandpa'rticles of the exterior layer to burst and thus form intersectingcracks 201 thereinto provide very minute valve-like ilaps 208 arrangedto prevent clay particles fronrnpassing through the layer while allowingair, under pressure, to pass vtherethrough during ejection of a'claycharge therefrom. Furthermore, this reticulated facing would also bevery effective to prevent intrusion of clay particles into the body ofthe end part in the event it 'is desired to' vacuumize the measuringchamber by way of said down, stopped or. even reversed, depending onpart to insure the complete filling of the chamher and the expedition ofthe filling operation.

The reticulated facing may also be in, the form the air passingtherethrough than it would if the part was entirely constructed offine-grained material, whereby said construction becomes very suitablefor such end parts that have a considerable mass of body portion, asthat seen in'Fig. 16.

As to the charge. producing capacity of the apparatus, a normal outputof from 20 to 25 charges per minute may be expected. Although, the fiures given are not absolute for obvious reasons, this rate of output fora single feeder wouldprovide a cycle of about three seconds for afeeding operation.

It is therefore preferred that the filling of the measuring chambersoccupy a shorterperiod of each cycle than that allotted for replenishingthe quantity of clay removed from the manifold to v the measuringchambers. The reason for allowing'more time'for manifold filling-isthat'during the time the measuring chambers are being filled the flow ofclay into the manifold may be slowed whether the auger pressure isgreater than, equal to, or less than the manifold pressure. Any slowingdown or interruption of the steady flow of clay into the' manifold willrequire more time to deliver'an amount of clay equal to that displaced,because'of the lost motion.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having .an inlet and a discharge outlet, areciprocable memberadapted to deliver the clay in charges through saidoutlet, a closure for said outlet movable into and out of closedrelation operable to actuate said closure and independent means foradjusting the uppermost limit of move- .ment and the lowermost limit ofmovement of the ber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, areciprocableme ber adapted to deliver the clay in chargesthr gh saidoutlet, a closure for said outlet movable into and out of closedrelation therewith, means for reciprocating said member operable toactuate said closure and means for adjusting the extent of reciprocationwhile the driving connection subsists between the member and theactuating means therefor.

3. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, areciprocable memberadaptedto deliver the clay ciprocable member adaptedto deliver'the clay in charges through said outlet, a closure for saidoutlet movable into and out of closed relation therewith, means forreciprocating said member operable to actuate said closure and means foradjusting the uppermost limit of movement of said member while inoperation.

4. In apparatus for feeding charges .of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, areciprocable member adapted to deliver the clay in charges through saidoutlet, a closure for said outlet movable into and out of closedrelation therewith, means for reciprocating said member operable toactuate said closure and means for adjusting the uppermost limit ofmovement of said member while the driving connection ub sists betweemthe member and the actuating means therefor.

5. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, areciprocable member adapted to deliver the clay member, respectively,while the driving connection subsists between the member and theactuating means therefor. v

9. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, a reincharges through said outlet, a closure for said outlet movable into andout of closed relation therewith, means for reciprocating said memberoperable to actuate said closure and means for adjusting the extent ofreciprocation and the uppermost and lowermost limit of reciprocation ofthe member while in operation.

10. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, a re-,ciprocable member adapted to deliver the clay in charges through saidoutlet, a closure for said outlet movable into and out of closedrelationv therewith, means for reciprocating said member operable toactuate said closure and means for adjusting the extent ofreciprocationand the up permost and lowermost limit of reciprocation ofthe member while the driving connection subsists between the member andthe actuating means,

' therefor.

in charges through said outlet, a closurefor said outlet movable intoand out of closed relation therewith, means for reciprocating saidmember operable to actuate said closure and means for adjusting thelowermost limit of movement of said member while in operation.

6. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, 9; re-

ciprocable member adapted, to deliver the clay in charges through saidoutlet, a closure for said outlet movable. into and out of closedrelation therewith, means for reciprocating said member operable toactuate said closure and means for adjusting the lowermost limit ofmovement while the driving connection subsists between the memer and theactuating means'thereforr D 7. In apparatus for feeding chargesof'plasticclay to pottery molds, a' charge measuring cham-- 11. Inapparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay, to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamoutlet movable into and out of closed relationtherewith, means for reciprocating said member operable to actuate saidclosure and means for adjusting the extent of reciprocation and theuppermost limit of movement of the member while in operation. l

12. Inapparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, areciprocable member adapted to deliver the clay in charges through saidoutlet, a closure for said outlet movable into and out of closedrelation therewith, means for reciprocating said member operable toactuate said closure and means for adjusting the extent of reciprocationand the uppermost; limit of movement v of the member while the drivingconnection between the member .andits actuating means subsists. 4

'13. In apparatus for feeding chargesuof plastic clay to pottery molds,'a charge measuring chamber having an inlet and a, discharge out-let, aretherewith, means for reciprocating said member ber having an inletand'a discharge'outlet, a reciprocable member adapted to deliver theclay in charges through said outlet, a closure for said outlet movableinto and out of closed relation therewith, means for reciprocating saidmember operable to actuate said closure and independent means foradjustingthe' uppermost limit of move ment and the lowermost limit ofmovement of the member, respectively while in operation. 1

8. In apparatus for feeding charges .of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring cham-' ber having an lnletan'd a discharge outlet, areciprocable member adapted to deliver the clay in charges through saidoutlet, a closure-for said outlet movable intoand out of closed relation15.

, outlet movable into operable to actuate said closure and means foradjusting the extent of reciprocation and the lowermost limit ofmovement of the member while in operation.

14? In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring cham- I and out of closed relation therewith,-means forreciprocating said 'member operable to actuate said closure and meansfor adjusting the extent of reciprocation and the lowermost: limit ofmovement of "the member while therewith, means for reciprocating saidmember the driving connection subsists' between the member and itsactuating means.

15. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, areciprocable member adapted to deliver the clay in charges through saidoutlet, a closure'for said outlet movable into and out of, closedrelation therewith, means for reciprocating said member operable toactuate said closure and means for varying the capacity of the measuringchamber while the apparatus is in operation.

T6. In'apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay, to pottery molds,a charge measuring chamber having an inlet and a discharge outlet, areciprocable member adapted to deliver the clay in charges through saidoutlet, a closure for said outlet movable into and out of closedrelation therewith, means for reciprocating said member operable toactuate said closure and means for varying thecapacity of the measuringchamber while the member is in operation to deliver charges of claythrough the outlet and while the driving connection between the memberand the actuating means therefor subsists.

I 17. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds,a charge measuring chamber having an inlet and an' outlet, areciprocable member adapted to deliver charges of clay through saidoutlet, a closure for said out let movable into and out of closedrelation therewith, means for reciprocating said member op- 21. Inapparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, a chargemeasuring chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a reciprocable memberfor delivering charges of clay therethrough having a permeable end partcomposed of coarse grained material and a thin outer body portion of afiner grained material, to prechamber having an inlet and an outlet, arecip-- rocable member for delivering charges of clay through saidoutlet, a closure for said outlet moverable to actuate said closure inpredetermined timed relation to the movement of the member and means forvarying the movement of-the member while in operation.

I '18. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to potterymolds, a charge measuring chamjber having an inlet and an outlet, areciprocable member adapted to deliver charges of clay able into and outof closed relation with said outlet, cam actuated means 'for operatingsaid 010- sure, and means for actuating said member op-- erable toactuate said cam actuated means.

23. In apparatus for feeding charges of clay to pottery molds, a chargemeasuring chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a reciprocable plungerfor delivering charges of clay through saidoutlet, a closure for saidoutlet movable into and out of closed relation therewith and means forreciprocating 'said plunger operable to actuate asid closure includingaction delaying means whereby the closure is withdrawn from the outletbefore the charge is delivered therethrough and the plunger is withdrawnfrom the outlet through said outlet, a closure for said outlet movableinto and out of closed relation therewith, means for reciprocating saidmember operable to actuate said closure in predetermined timed relationto the movement of the member and means for varying the movement of themember while the driving connection subsists between the member and itsactuating means.

19. In apparatus for feeding charge of clay to pottery molds, a chargemeasuring chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a reciprocable plungerhaving a permeable clay engaging end part for delivering charges of claythrough said outlet, a closure movable into and out of closed relationwith said outlet, means for reciprocating said plunger operable toactuate said closure and means for directing air under pressure throughthe permeable end part during the final charge expelling movement of theplunger to repel the clay charge therefrom.

20. In apparatus for feeding charges of plastic clay to pottery molds, acharge measuring chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a reciprocablemember for delivering charges of clay therethrough having a permeableend part with a reticulated clay engaging surface capable of precludingthe entry of clay thereinto and throughwhich air under pressure isdelivered during final charge expelling. movement of the member, aclosure movable into and out of closed'relation with-the outlet andmeans for reciprocating the member operable to actuate said closure.

before the closure is moved into closed relation withthe outlet.

24. In apparatus for feeding charges of clay to pottery molds, a chargemeasuring chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a reciprocable plungerfor delivering charges of clay through said outlet, a closure, ,movableinto and out of closed relation with said outlet, and mean for:reciprocating said plunger operable to actuate said closure including alost motion connection and cam means which enables plunger dwellperio'ds between movements of the closure.

25. In apparatus for feeding charges of clay to pottery molds, a chargemeasuring chamber having an inlet and an outlet, at reciprocable plungerfor delivering charges of clay through said outlet, a closure, camactuated means for moving said closure into. and out of closed relationwith said outlet, and fluid operated means for reciprocating'saidplunger operable to actuate said cam actuated means.

26. In apparatusfor feeding charges of cla to pottery molds, a chargemeasuring chamber having an inlet and outlet, a reciprocable plunger fordelivering charges of clay'through said outlet, a closure for saidoutlet movable into and out of closed relation therewith, meansforvarying the uppermost limit of movement of said plunger to therebyvary the capacity of the charge measuring chamber and the length of theclay charge, means for visibly indicating the length of the charge andmeans for reciprocating said plunger operable to actuate said closure.

WILLIAMLMILLER.

